boardhedz

Wednesday June 16th

2010-07-05T21:01:00.004+01:00

Desperate times...

Drove all the way to St. Mary's Bay in E Kent as NElys blow a good bit stronger there in the Summer. Took about 1 hour 40 minutes, which is not too bad really.

Conditions were South Coast - but with a nice sandy beach and wind from the left.

It was 4.7m weather really but a friend's new sail enthusiasm for his 4.0 5 Oceans got the better of him - and me so I rigged 4.2

2 forward attempts over the back of waves on the way back in - wierd plus a bonus .5 which I changed my mind on at the last minute and just did a hop when i landed stuck my fin in the sand and catapulted spectacularly - that was the end of the loop attempt...

Wednesday 31st March

2010-04-19T11:14:00.002+01:00

Feeling exceptionally lazy about writing sessions up, but it hardly matters as there haven't been any.

One at Paggers on Dec 6th, then nothing til end of Feb when had a decent 4.2 session at Shoreham power station.

Then finally got to sail K-Bay! And it was really quite good and firmly overhead. Hurrah! It may be a shit year but at least one objective achieved. Now for looping...

Like I said feeling lazy and Gregg has already done a decent write-up here.

Thursday 26th November

2009-11-29T08:53:00.002Z

Great session at Lancing in WSW wind (just ever so slightly cross-off). Wind was a bit up and down at first but it was nice to get out on the 78 and a 'huge' 5.0. Although the waves were reasonable size (shoulder-head) with a gusty wind and a rip I thought the extra float and looseness of the 78 was a better choice. And so it was. Had a few tips from Guy about linking the two sections of the wave and got some sweet rides, chucked quite a bit of spray and some very satisfying late re-entries bumping and sliding around in the whitewater.

Absolultely cream-crackered now, putting the kit in the shed for a few days.

Tuesday 24th November

2009-11-29T08:46:00.002Z

'Disappointing' waves after the last few sessions, but in comparison to usual, still not bad. Well-powered 4.2, with a decent angle on it, meant that you could sail much less conservatively than eg Monday. Even got a few aerials. However one attempt coincided with a gust and the subsequent crash meant a dead arm, gratitude to Gath, and the end of the session.

Plenty more wind and waves on the way though.

Monday 23rd November

2009-11-23T19:51:00.006Z

Bonkers windy session at Pagham. Decent waves in the head to half-mast region but ridiculously windy, gusting F9. With 4.2 as a smallest sail was well overpowered, but still managed to get some decent long rides in. Up the near spit there were some nice clean, almost bowly (for the S Coast) sections, if you got a lull when one of these came through pure joy to smack it into the middle of next week. If it coincided with a gust it smacked you, or you got blown out the back. Really good fun, perhaps a bit surprisingly, as I thought I had grown out of silly conditions :)

Friday 20th November

2009-11-23T19:40:00.003Z

Some decent headhigh+ waves at Pagham in a flukey cross-off wind that faded away as we sailed. Scored some sweet clean waves, even if at the end I was having to take off really late and so not really in a position to do much with it. Only took the small board when clearly a bit more float was needed...

Thursday 19th November

2009-11-19T18:17:00.004Z

A bit onshore but great fun at Pagham with some reasonable mid-sized waves to bash. Sailed on the push with 4.2 and was stacked at first, but underpowered by lunchtime. Really sunny, mild, nice people about - excellent session.

Lee from LAR was ripping on his new Quatro Tempo - I want one.

Same again tomorrow please!

Monday 15th November

2009-11-19T18:13:00.003Z

Cracking sail at Littlehampton. Went to Paghama at first but it was a bit offshore and choppy - got better later apparently.

Went to LA instead, rigged 4.2 but then some bigger guys on 4.5s came in in a lull, rigged 5.0 instead. Got mullered in the shorebreak, then got out and wind came up honking. Good fun at first if a bit choppy and hectic, then tide dropeed the required amount and and it cleaned up and with a WSW wind had some great clean riding. Eventually the wind came a bit more onshore which made riding the short period waves frontside a bit harder as they were alwas behind you, but still loads of fun.

Thursday 12th November

2009-11-19T18:11:00.001Z

After a week in the Alpes-Maritime cycling and eating cheese and drinking wine I returned to find October style low pressure in charge of the weather and the forecast looking mild and windy FOR WEEKS :)

This session was a quick warm-up at Shoreham on 5.0 and 78, bit of a rip running and SSW very onshore there, but some fun backside riding.

Forecast for loads of wind and accompanying swell.

Bring it on!!

Saturday 24th October

2009-10-26T09:06:00.002Z

What a rubbish Autumn it's been - six weeks without a sail. It has been possible to sail on a few days which have coincided with me doing other things, and if you were prepared to drive 3 hours to Kent to sail in a NEly. But those days are long behind me.

Hit the water feeling very rusty, but was reasonably powered on 5.0 and 78 and was psyched enough to go for a forward first ramp I hit. It was probably the worst attempt I have done :) I was really scratching around for ramps and gusts to coincide but managed another 4 attempts. The first three were equally as bad as the first, but for the final one I scissored the board quite well and then just failed to sheet, or sheeter so feebly it didnt add anything to the rotation.

I really have to work out a way of sailing where I can hit a ramp with my hand far enough back down the boom that I can sheet hard enough to get some rotation.

The next time I go sailing, whenever that is :( high pressure now back in charge.

Friday 4th September

2009-09-07T09:58:00.004+01:00

After getting put off making the trip to K-Bay then spent most of the morning driving along the S Coast looking for somewhere worth launching.

Eventually ended up at Hove, downwind of Hot Pipes, at the beach referred to as Buff Point. Was mid-tide and flat but windy and it looked like a small wave might form as the tide dropped. Sure enough it did, so had a fun couple of hours blasting around then committing crimes against wavesailing.

Gareth of the Shorekipa Chronicles took some pics, fortunately I managed to avoid shorebreak humiliation.

Thursday 11th June

2009-09-03T20:48:00.001+01:00

Flat grooveriding session at Avon. My last session for a month as next day i came off my bike and knocked myself out cold for 10 minutes and separated my shoulder. Got back on the bike quick enough, but only now have I got my sailing mojo back.

Broke my helmet in 2 places, glad I was wearing it!!

Thursday August 13th

2009-09-03T20:47:00.001+01:00

Flat, warm blasting and gybing session at Avon. Decided to give the artificial reef a miss - not a good wind/wave angle and v shallow.

Monday 13th July

2009-09-03T20:45:00.000+01:00

Fun windy windswell session at LA.

Thurs 3rd Sept

2009-09-03T20:04:00.007+01:00

Goodbye Summer - hello Autumn. First proper windy-wavey session for ages. Decent rideable windswell at LA - boom to headhigh. Maxed on 4.7 and 78. Wicked fun. Ant and Nik Baker showed up as well as Jamie Hawkins and Mat Pearch. Nik Baker in particular was ripping the shorebreak to bits, one-handed airs, 360s and all sorts of classy moves all much faster and more critical than anyone else. Although Jamie landed only the second fully planing hair dry killer loop i have ever seen.

Some pics:

(the backy is my brother Chris)

Here's a quick video Chris filmed on a coffee break:

Weds 2nd Sept

2009-09-03T19:59:00.001+01:00

More chop bothering at Goring this time. Windier and sunnier and less rainy than expected so good. Went for a couple of forwards, sheeted in hard enough for once but had taken off to close to wind so ripped out of straps. At least I have some idea why it is going wrong now when it inevitably does.

Starting to get excited about going sailing again now..

(Got a set of the old non-absorbent Da Kine Core Contours on the Guerrilla 78 from Worthing Watersports - first real outing for them after a serious nose repair on the Guerilla - lovely - why cant all footstraps be that comfy, light, simple?)

Weds 26th August

2009-09-03T19:56:00.001+01:00

Bit of mid-tide chop bothering at Pagham. Broke my mast in innocuous circumstances. After doing not much noticed it had just cracked. Replaced it with an Amex Taper from LAR (leeboy went back to shop to get it for me, top man).

Sails set nice on it, and sail perfectly well. Looks like it is a bit better made, more heavy duth than the Naish.

Wednesday 15th July

2009-07-15T22:56:00.000+01:00

A game of three halves at Niton. First half was sailing maxed out with a 5m in overhead+ breaking chop, you could bottom turn but then it wasnt clear if you should be top turning on the section in front or behind you. Still managed to avoid munchings, swimmings and trips to the rocks.

Second half things cleaned up a bit, wind dropped to sensible 5.0 and we started getting some decent turns in, also some faster swell seemed to come in so you didnt need to turn as tight to hit the wave on your top turn. Overcooked it on one and had a decent swim as a result, then a long trip downwind in the rip before I could get going. Wind dropped a bit so came in for a bit to eat and a drink and to think about using a bigger board.

As we were drinking, the incoming tide slackened right off and things started to look much much cleaner with swell coming in in lines. By now there were quite a few surfers out in the lee of the cliff and the sets were properly overhead. But it was high tide the tricky keyhole launch was looking like russian roulette. Somehow, more by luck than judgement, I managed to get out on my 78 and had some real clean wave joy in the bonus third half, never masses of turns linked, but with things so smooth some really nice critical take-offs and smacks. We were sailing quite close to the surfers, if they knew how surfers should behave they would probably have been pissed off, but that wouldnt be very Isle of Wight. They did have a good laugh when my mate took off a bit deep and ended up on the rocks though.

Anyway, great fun, and a massive two of us out. I love sailing there; heading out is like sailing into a Turner painting, coming back a Constable.

Noticed one of the surfers had a quad when he put his board in his truck, then noticed they all did. When did that happen?

Friday 22nd May

2009-05-25T09:52:00.002+01:00

Second instalment of the looping coaching with Ant.

Went back to my Mach 10 blasting habits, but was finding it difficult to jolly along as the wind was a bit marginal for 5.4 and waveboard so was having to hang off the rig to get going, and that really puts in the wrong body position for looping. Which (apparently) is much easier from an upright front-footed stance.

Spent a bit more time practising the sheeting in - which i finally get - back hand has to go waaaaaay down the boom - right at the end of the main arm for me and then you really have to yank it - it is not like being sheeted in when sailing along. If you do that then you get a nice floaty catapult and dont hit the water nearly so hard as if you had been a bit half-arsed sheeting in.

Managed two observed attempts before the wind dropped, got everything right, but didnt sheet in on one so a bit of a splat, the other fully rotated, but left board behind as took off too close to the wind.

Next time...

(Didnt I say that last time?)

Monday 18th May

2009-05-20T20:19:00.002+01:00

Went for a looping coaching session with Ant Baker. Decided during session 8th May that I was doing something fundamentally wrong and sure if within 15s of us leaving the beach Ant pointed out that blasting out at World Cup slalom speed was no way to go about it.

Some adjustments to my rig, and after introducing a generally more relaxed vibe to my sailing and it all seemed a lot less scary. After a fair bit of sailing one-handed, to get used to sheeting out and getting my weight more on the front foot, and quite a bit of chop-hopping really off the wind, we were ready to have a crack.

First go, take off and initiation all perfect according to Ant, forgot to sheet in, head hit mast and split ear open :)

Fortunately one of the guys I was with, Gareth, lives on the beach and his wife is a nurse so she cleaned it up and put some steri-strips on. Didn't hurt at the time (although it did a bit the next day) and I was still psyched for it, but it just wasn't sensible.

Anyway, it feels really close now. Ant, being a gentleman, says the session is unfinished and is to be continued next time it is windy...

Friday 15th May

2009-05-20T20:18:00.001+01:00

Drove to Goring in nice sunny F5/6, one run out, wind dies, hang around a bit. pack up. Blows its nuts off!!!

How many times this year. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Friday 8th May

2009-05-11T21:52:00.003+01:00

At last - a decent SWly!!

Stacked on the 4.7 and Guerrilla 71 at Littlehampton. Had lunch with my brother at East Beach Cafe, then a great session maxed out with waist hight waves. A bit too onshore and windy for many loop attempts, managed about 4 or 5 slightly pathetic ones, but loads of big jumps and some great chop bothering, both frontside and backside.

Love the tail on the 71, it breaks out in a much more controllable way and you can really feel it slicing the wave and chucking loads of spray.

Wednesday 6th May

2009-05-07T19:36:00.002+01:00

Dropped in at Avon on the way home from uni. Looked 5.8-6.0 windy but didnt have anything bigger than my 5.4 but it was sunny so went out anyway. Bit gusty and couldnt make any ground upwind but went for a few wymaroo/loopy things.

Eventually rod turned up and with the improvements in his looping articulated a way of throwing the rig that meant I finally got how to do it one move rather than a sequence of 3 that I never quite get right.

Went for a few and finally feel like I have got the idea - also at Avon it is much easier to hit a ramp, even a tiddler broad and this makes it so much easier/less scary.

Had to come in after dinging the nose of my board but psyched for it now and want to find some slightly bigger ramps with a decent bit of wind...

Monday 27th April

2009-04-30T10:56:00.002+01:00

Splash and dash at Sea Lane Cafe Goring. Well powered on 4.7 and 71 with some Ok backside waves considering there was no groundswell. Had to rush off for tooth extraction but wind died when I had to leave anyway. Wind at last!!!! 6 or 7 weeks without a decent blast on the waveboard at this time of year is dreadful.

Hopefully the European Summer Monsoon will be a good one to make up for it this year!

Saturday 25th April

2009-04-30T10:54:00.002+01:00

Turned up at Pagham to find nice 5.4 weather, rigged up, wind dropped. GRRRRRR. Really bad current coming out the harbour mouth in the hour or two immediately following high tide now. Needs the tide to drop sufficiently for the bar to be exposed for the waves to be any good on the drop. Fine on the push.

Monday 9th March

2009-03-24T11:24:00.003Z

Sailed at West Wittering for first time for years. WNW wind with tide on the way out, got one decent wave before the tide coming out of Chichester harbour made sailing frustrating, plenty of turns but nothing really satisfying and quite a big of bogging and not planing despite plenty of wind. Forced myself into a couple of loop attempts and at least its getting warmer :)

Basically reminded myself why Bracklesham is better then West Witts once the tide has turned...

3rd March 2009

2009-03-03T20:53:00.002Z

First session for weeks. Noone about at Pagham so went to Goring. Had forgotten to fix my Guerrilla 78 despite the lay-off so had to take the 71. When I got to the beach, it wasn't windy enough so went to the local shop Worthing Watersports in search of footstrap screws.

When I got back to the Caff the wind had come up to a SSW F5/6 and after a bit of chat and faffing rigged up and went out and had a good fun 90 minutes in pretty onshore conditions but with some decent waist-boom high peaks to do backside aeriels off.

23rd January 2009

2009-01-23T21:27:00.005Z

After recent frustrating sessions it was great to get out in a solid F6/7 WNW. Some reasonable small waves, but they were a bit slow or coming in at a funny angle so even though the wind was pretty sideshore for Bracks they were still a way behind you as you turned. In the end worked out that your first top turn had to be quite shallow so you could took a high line on your next ones to keep your speed. Good fun, still a bit chilly, glad I had the gloves and hood!

Lee from LAR

22nd January 2009

2009-01-22T14:46:00.001Z

Wind blew through again overnight, then picked up a bit tempting me to beach but I got there just as the front went over and the wind dropped to just about a F4. AAAAAAGHH!!!

19th January 2009

2009-01-21T16:59:00.002Z

Pagham this time, same story as the 18th. I got there in time for one decent wave in a dying Wly which is too offshore to be sailing on your tod in this cold. They guys there had a really good hour in a F5-6 SWly with boom-high waves. Curses!!

18th January 2009

2009-01-21T16:44:00.003Z

A decent blow went through overnight and left some reasonable windswell with a lame F4/5 WSWly. We went to Littlehampton and got there after the best of the wind had blown through. As it was sunny went out for a bit of float and ride, but with no real guts to the waves, it wasn't a lot of fun. As the tide came in, the combination of rip, light wind and overhead shorebreak made launching and beaching amusing, and I got spat up the beach in front of a gaggle of grannies.

January 12th 2009

2009-01-13T16:25:00.004Z

First sail of the year after a terrible December and it was a really cold one at Pagham. Sea at 3-4C :( Having clocked how cold the sea had become during a cold December was hoping to have gloves and thermal vest sorted from LAR in time but for various reasons didn't. Paid the prices and now have them. Waves were pretty good, overhead on the sets and clean, sailing on the 4.7 on the 71, but once the tide turned was getting bogged by the current in the lee of the spit where they were cleanest and steepest. Wind was a bit onshore making it difficult to string to together long fast rides, but by going frontside/backside you could get some good smacks in.

Realised it had been a lot of fun once I thawed out.

Thursday 4th December

2008-12-04T21:37:00.003Z

Fairly meaty wind-driven swell up to half-mast + on the sets and a cold gusty but reasonable F5 WSW at Bracklesham. Swell was from a more Sly direction than usual which meant the riding was a bit less onshore. Some cross-chop but if you picked the right wave in the set the previous wave would clear everything up for you. Good fun with some dark pits and solid looking lips - for the S Coast ;-)

Recent Sessions

2008-12-01T17:29:00.003Z

Now I am self-employed I no longer have to give a shit about bosses snooping round my blog to see if I have been working rather than sailing...

And with Winter coming up, I am looking forward to some waves on the S Coast.

Here are my recent sessions:

Aug-19 Niton 5
Not as good as the previous week but not bad - don’t go at high tide on a big spring…
01-Sep Shoreham 5
chop, few loops
04-Sep Lancing 5.4
Very gusty, small wave, 2 loops when it got up to F7 but too powered, did get some rotation on one go
05-Sep Pagham 4.2
Very onshore, nice waist-boom waves - great for backside aeriels
01-Oct Bracks 5
Strong Sideshore wind, but waves a bit disappointing for a WNW
05-Oct Pagham 5.4
Wind dropped as I got there, but some Ok float and ride in small clean waves
08-Oct Pagham 4.7
Wind dropped again! Only had 4.7 and the 71 and floated out, then sank. No wind at all...
20-Oct Pagham 4.7
Small waves
08-Nov Pagham 4.7
Chop in front of the bungalow
09-Nov Pagham 4.2
Small waves in mental wind at the spit, excellent fun
11-Nov LA 5
First decent winter wave session - head-high WSW, some really long rides
23-Nov Bracks 5.4
Great fun cross-off waveriding session, waist-boom, lots of mini-aeriels

There has been a new addition to the family - I now have a Guerrila 71 to got with the 78, £325 in perfect nick, only to have someone ride straight into me first decent session on it. Nice long dent, but hopefully it is just cosmetic. Had one really heavy duty F8/9 sail on it since and everything seems OK. A fantastic board - perfect combination of old and new waveboard design and much more get up and go than I thought something that small and heavily rockered would have.

August 12th

2008-08-14T16:50:00.004+01:00

Oh dear been completely slack on the blogging front. It's all been a bit too much like work. However this year has seen a fair bit of sailing and I owe 25 or so session reports. Anyway, couldn't let this one go - fantastic session at Niton on IOW. Easier to post a few pix than describe it, but it was heavy with lots of swimming.

£25 for a half day return on Wightlink if you get the boat after 11:25 (ie first boat you can catch is 1130) and return on the 1830 or later. That isnt much more than a foot ticket plus parking on the hover, and you can take all your kit with much less aggravation. Best £25 of the year!!

EDIT: And here's some video

Saturday 29th December

2008-01-08T10:05:00.000Z

Great fun sunny session at Littlehampton with sideshore wind and some decent overhead waves on the Guerrilla and 5.4. Managed to pick a few out the back with J and Rich and bottom turn around each other in true festive spirit. A great way to end the year.

27 sessions all but one on the waveboard, and all on 5.4 or smaller - not bad :)

Friday 28th December

2008-01-08T10:02:00.000Z

Arrived at Pagham at high tide to find everyone packing up. The wind wasn't forecast to drop so figured it was just a high tide lull and rigged my 5.0 anyway (as that was the biggest sail I had taken).

Once I worked out the wind was a bit more onshore than I thought planed away quite happily and then had a really good hour on my own in shoulder to head-high waves, mostly backside riding, but with the occasional trip down the line if a wave cleaned up or there was a more sideshore gust. Great fun.

Thursday 6th December

2007-12-19T15:36:00.000Z

Wicked down the line session at Pagham, got there a little too late after high tide for the biggest waves but head wave after wave after wave of shoulder to head-high clean long lines. The wind was very WSW so side-off and this meant the bigger waves could be ridden from the spit to the third big rock groyne. A real bottom turn bullshit bonanza with more than a few 10+ turn waves. Fan-bloody-tastic!!

Used the 4.7 on the Gheyrilla 78, the waves were holding up really nicely and well powered with a cross-off wind was able to get a few aeriels but was unable to land any back on the face. Will have to get the hang of that in 2008!

Later in the week the boys all went over to the Isle of Wight for a party at J's house and got a big, meaty session in at Chilten.:

You can just about make Rich out on the far left heading towards a big set...

December 3rd 2007

2007-12-04T21:08:00.000Z

Took a half day and went to Bracklesham Bay with Pete. 5.4 on the Guerrilla 78. Some Ok waves about and Weathercam (creator of the beach guides I link to) even got a bit of video of us attempting to ride the onshore waves. I am not sure of his taste in music, but he is a top bloke and his online weather station is a useful resource

Of course after he had gone, the wind went from WSW to W (more cross-shore) and we started to pull together a few decent rides ;-)

First outing for the new wetsuit a Gul Delta - brilliant - warmest I've been winter sailing for years. Got it for bargain £124 from jwvwatersports.

Friday 30th November

2007-12-02T17:30:00.000Z

Took the afternoon off on a good forecast, which never really came off. Went out from Rich's house, and sailed up to the spit where the wind was gusty and eventually died off, there was a hint of some waves, but nothing like I thought there might be.

Ended up missing Saturday and Sunday as a result. Pics below :(

(Sunday was actually too windy most of the day, but it seems there was a sailable hour when it was only F7 mid-afternoon).

Saturday...

Sunday - Pagham at its best

Wednesday 28th Nov

2007-12-02T17:28:00.000Z

Sneaky lunchtime session with 5.0 and 95 FSW at Pagham, OK at best, but just good to be out on the water.

Thursday 8th November

2007-11-08T16:19:00.000Z

Windy but flat (hence the moody gv pic rather than an action shot) session at Littlehampton on the 4.7 Session and Guerrilla 78. Getting cold now and came in for booties after 15 minutes. That' s it for bare feet til Easter! Will have to get a new winter suit soon, some seams came apart the legs of my summer suit and it was letting water in.

Persuaded my brother to come along and had a go on his Delta Euphoria, unconventional and fun, and stonks upwind on the thrusters - will be great to try it when (if ever) the winter swells start showing up.

Had a coffee in the East Beach Cafe afterwards, very chichi, far more Brighton than LA :)

Sunday 28th October

2007-10-28T23:13:00.000Z

Fun 5.0 session at Pagham. Lots of people there as SSW wind forecast but it was more sideshore than that. Some waves to bash but small and not in nice lines. Please forgive the video experiment, next time it will be better :) The waves, er, chop, got a bit better as the tide came in, honest!

Tuesday 16th October

2007-10-16T20:50:00.000+01:00

Quick lunchtime trip to Goring. In a word 'rubbish'. Planed for about 3 seconds, came in, went home - at least that doesn't take long these days. Roll on Autumn...

Monday 24th September

2007-10-14T23:14:00.000+01:00

Littlehampton on the Guerrilla with 4.7. Much better session than Thursday. Wind was Wly which is the perfect direction at LA, once the tide dropped a bit there were lots of small waves and plenty of riding and jumping fun, with only 3 of us out. The wave holds up well in the slightly offshore wind and has a good shape for smacking. Only takes 35 minutes to get there too. More please...

Thursday 20th September

2007-10-14T23:12:00.000+01:00

First time on the water since moving - and it took a month (although nowhere near as long as it took to get broadband). Takes about 35 minutes to get to Shoreham, where I sailed with 5.4 on the Guerrilla 78. It was OK, cross-on small waves, couple of decent jumps and turns, just good to go for a sail and spend more time sailing than driving :)

Thursday 26th July

2007-07-29T21:05:00.000+01:00

Lame pre-work session at Pagham, pretty windy, well powered 4.7, but flat to boring. Quite desperate for a decent wave session now.

Tuesday 17th July

2007-07-17T20:38:00.000+01:00

A few work things went in my favour and ended up sneaking a lunchtime sail at Pagham in 25ish knots with conference calls in the car either side. 21st century technology is great...

Surprisingly windy, rigged the new old 4.7 Session courtesy of the infamous Graeme Fuller of SurfSales. Very nice as you'd expect. Nothing much in the way of waves though and in one embarassing instance got caught in the river that now flows into the harbour mouth and had to clamber over the great pile of shingle sitting just off the beach. The shame of it :)

Some idiot coming a cropper gybing flat out for the camera:

Friday 6th July

2007-07-10T10:47:00.000+01:00

Maxed out on 5.0 and Guerrilla 78 at Littlehampton. It was probably 4.2 weather and there were plenty of bigger guys on smaller sails. Some lumpy waves to bash and there was a good half hour when the wind went cross-off and the riding was a lot more fun.

Finally met Weathercam (real name Gavin) who does the location reports I link to on this site and has a useful streaming cam set up looking out of his front window in Worthing.

The guy in the picture is Cliff, a graphic designer from Chichester.

Monday 2nd July

2007-07-02T19:36:00.000+01:00

Another fun-sized wave session. This time with rod at Avon Beach. 5.4 on the Guerrilla 78. There was a good halfhour when there was plenty of wind in just the right direction for some fun down the line rides in the small waves.

Great for July.

I then locked the camera in the car before anyone got any pics of me chop-bothering :)

Sunday 1st July

2007-07-02T09:41:00.000+01:00

Surprisingly windy and wavey (for July) day at Pagham. 4.2 wasnt quite enough and I could have held the 5.0 down but I was planing most of the time. Got a few OK waves but the tide was on the way out, and the current was messing things up. Still, as we were at a kid's party and it was a sneaky session, nothing to complain about.

EDIT: meanwhile, on the Isle of Wight at Niton:

Wednesday 27th June

2007-06-27T19:46:00.000+01:00

Fun 4.2 session on the Guerrilla Wave at Shoreham. Decided to take a half day, finished at work at 12.45, got home 1.09 and was on the water at 2.45 so although it doesn't look it on the map it would seem it's the quickest beach to get to from TW7.

Also had some small waves at low tide when everywhere else would have been flat or too onshore to be fun. Although the wind looks reasonably sideshore on the beach, and is a great angle for jumping, the way the waves come in means it is quite onshore when you are trying to ride them and it is easy to get backwinded - it requires the full onshore technique. Still got a couple of smacks I was reasonably happy with.

Monday 18th June

2007-06-19T11:41:00.000+01:00

Had my afternoon meetings cancelled so took the afternoon off and drove down hoping to catch some wind that was blowing through but forecast to drop off. I was hoping for a bit of a thermal to keep things interesting after the front had gone past. Sure enough, after driving down in rain got to Pagham to find clear skies and 25 knots + . So had a sunny fun chop bothering session with the Guerilla 78 and 4.2.

Saturday 16th June

2007-06-18T11:12:00.000+01:00

Sailed at Pagham with a 5.0 on the Guerilla 78. Decently windy but no waves. The spit continues to grow and on the ebb tide this means the water coming out of the harbour really rips out parallel to the beach and creates a lot of chop and a standing wave.

It has really changed the shape of the beach, and on the outgoing tide makes sailing a fair bit more technical, and if you are not careful you will end up a fair way downwind.

Saturday 19th May

2007-05-21T10:57:00.001+01:00

Niton again. This time with 5.0 on the Guerilla. We sailed in the morning for 2 and a half hours leading up to high tide. The decent swell that had been forecast never really showed up, but the waves were still good fun, even though it was just windswell. I would love to sail this place in a proper groundswell.

The pic shows that the launch is a touch trickier on high tide, especially if a set comes in and there is a surge. Basically you walk your kit down the slipway in the pic, swim it round the corner and towards the post mid-right pic. That is when you find out if you have the right sail up. It's not that kit-threatening in the waves we were in - bit bigger today, some overhead, maybe even a few half-mast lumps out the back. Good for a few big backside hits on the way in, then a quite fast bottom turn on the inside hoping to find a peak to hit.

There were some surfers out where the wave was smaller, but a little cleaner, but it was difficult to get onto the point to drop-in without taking out the line out and the wave was not so peaky once you had done your bottom turn which meant a fairly lame top turn. It was actually more fun to leave that section to the surfers and ride in front of the channel where there was a little sandbar which meant the waves were breaking and you could get a couple of nice smacks in.

Strange local in the car park.

Heading back up the track, looking West to the lighthouse on St. Catherine's Point.

It is a very scenic place to sail, when you are heading in the lighthouse and cliffs make a wonderful vista. You are also quite aware that there is a lot of water moving around and you are that much further out in the channel. The rolling swell out the back gets big quite quickly. Coming back if you miss the channel, then you have another chance about 100 yds downwind, then there is a point, then who knows where you would end up - almost certainly with a hike of shame as the next road access is quite a way away.

Two good sessions in two days and with plenty to time to do family stuff on Saturday. The Isle of Wight is a great pace to take kids, there is an absolute stack of things to do.

Friday 18th May

2007-05-21T10:55:00.000+01:00

From Boardhedz

Niton near St.Catherine's point on the Isle of Wight. Sailed with 5.4 on the Guerilla, well powered (although it didn't look it) and with some small waves around, although it actually looks quite good in the picture above.

Here is a view from the car park down towards the sailing area. You walk your kit (unrigged) down the path to where there is a small grass area where you can rig next to the harbour. There is no beach as such you have to swim your kit round a breakwater in no wind. Interesting, but then all the best spots are a pain in the arse to launch from.

J launching out through the channel - heading towards low tide - easy.

J on fun sized wave.

The view from Castlehaven caravan site looking towards the sailing area - you can just make out J and Clive in the background. This is an excellently located site, it is beautiful, and there is nice little cafe there. But - on a pretty good forecast there was noone staying there. The guy needs to work out a late deal offer including ferry then advertise it on the windsurfing forums.

A good day, but better was to come...

Tuesday 8th May

2007-05-09T15:48:00.000+01:00

Took the afternoon off and sailed at Littlehampton on the Guerrilla 78 and 4.2 Session. Having persuaded Bill and rod to come over, of course there wasn't much swell around. As the tide came in there were some decent sized lumps to do some onshore frontside 'riding' but it was all a bit short period and undynamic. Nice bit of wind though which meant you could go a long way downwind in search of a peak.

The picture above is of East Beach Cafe designed by Thomas Heatherwick, which is currently taking shape, it makes a great landmark when you are sailing against the backdrop of white Regency townhouses (when you are out at sea you can't see how rundown they are).

Monday 7th May

2007-05-08T09:43:00.000+01:00

Surprisingly good session at Pagham on the Session 4.2 and Guerrilla wave. Waves were coming in in waist-high sets with the occasional bigger shoulder-head high ones. They weren't in long lines but you could bash out a good top turn, as the shingle bar has moved around a fair bit and the waves seem a bit more 'hollow' and punchier - relatively speaking of course :). Sometimes you got lucky and could connect a couple of sections for a 4/5 bottom turn ride.

Wind was a touch offshore and a bit gusty, like F5-F7, but never too manic.

Monday 5th March

2007-03-05T21:50:00.001Z

DSCF1538
Originally uploaded by andytedd.

Avon Beach. Started off on 95l FSW and 5.8, then changed down to 78l ORB and 5.0. 5.4 and 78l probably would have been alright the whole time! Wind was more onshore than previous times I have sailed there, verging on Sly I would have thought.

Got there after the second high tide and the waves quickly dropped to waist-high at best, although I got the impression they had been bigger earlier, and this was backed up by the guy in the nearby shop Spot on Water who gave it the typical 'should have been here earlier'. However, it did sound like it had been very good...

Must pay more attention to the tides here in future, obviously needs to be on the push to be best, and certainly not after the second high tide.

Sunday 11th February

2007-02-12T22:00:00.001Z

LA
Originally uploaded by andytedd.

Quality down the line session at Littlehampton on Guerrilla 78 and 5.0. A proper long period groundswell (15s headhigh to overhead) hit the South Coast with a F5 Wly wind.

This meant long fast bottom turns where you could spot a peak 10-15m down the line and go for it knowing you were going to hit at speed. Sessions like this are so rare on the South Coast.

Earlier Pagham was firing with a cleaner wave (see pic below), but the wind switched from SW to W as I arrived there, so I headed to LA.

Still surprisingly warm, no ice-cream headaches or hot hand :)

Saturday 13th January

2007-01-14T16:12:00.001Z

13012007111 (2)
Originally uploaded by andytedd.

Kicked off 2007 with a decent Pagham session with 5.4 on the Guerrila Wave. Small rideable waves, but must admit I was a bit disappointed after all the wicked down the line sessions people had been having midweek...

Still, decent wind and very warm, compared to what January is usually like.

New sail looks nice --

Sunday 31st December

2007-01-11T20:48:00.001Z

DSCF1488
Originally uploaded by andytedd.

Rounded off the year with a great sail with more of the crowd sailing together than has been seen for a decade. Chris, Rich, J, Pete were all out. Decent bit of wind, 5.0 on the Guerilla Wave, and some clean but small waves, getting the hang of the new board, and even did a small aeriel on one waveride.

Then fell off badly going off the back of a wave with one foot out of the straps and doing the splits when I hit the water. Very painful and had to pack up and limp home...

Friday December 15th

2006-12-16T15:27:00.000Z

Pagham, Guerrilla 78 and 5.0. More wind than we were expecting so got to try out new board, which is exactly what I wanted. Much more loose in onshore slow waves, and a nice freestyle feel when just blasting. Seems like it will take a 5.4/5.5 so will be expecting to use it a lot.

Small waves but coming in lines so plenty of jumping, and a bit of frontside riding, but wasnt quite enough wind, so it was tricky putting more than a few turns together. At first, only me Pete and Bill, then Bill went and John Hibbard turned up, but basically we had the place to ourselves.

(The pic above was taken in front of Rich's house and not at the spit where the waves are)

Thursday 7th December

2006-12-07T22:42:00.000Z

DSCF1369, originally uploaded by andytedd.

Overcoombe, Weymouth. 4.2 and waveboard - ridiculously overpowered, gusting over 50 knots. Took about 2 hours 20 minutes to drive there, so its doable for a day trip. If it had been a nice F6 this would have been a great day, Overcombe has long lines of fun sized waves with good shape and the wind is nicely sideshore. There is a nice cafe with no hangup about wetsuits and a shop with spare UJs etc. Its all very convenient.

But the wind was gusting F9, and only a few guys were sailing well. They guy in the picture is Steve Thorp who was totally ripping the place up, more aeriels than the rest of us did bottom turns - put together!

Monday 4th December

2006-12-04T23:14:00.000Z

Littlehampton 95l FSW, 5.0 and 5.8m

When we got there at high tide it looked pretty windy and there were decent (looking) waves coming well spaced in sets, over head-high.

A couple of locals were rigging 4.5s which looked optimistic so we rigged 5.0s (heavily downhauled out of respect) and watched. There was quite a big dump, but plenty of space between waves so not a bad launch. Its years and years since I sailed there, if I ever did (would have been with a tiga 280) and I'd say its the easiest S Coast shingly launch other than West Witts.

Anyway they went out and we went back to the cars to get FSW waveboards... The waves, and even the occasional bit of whitewater were head-high, but there was not much wind. We then sailed planing in the gusts for a couple of hours, I changed up to 5.8 which improved things a fair bit.

Quite a nice setup for backside riding but it has to be the slowest wave Ive ever sailed - it makes Pagham look fast. Got a few frontside turns but unless you are fully powered on a 5.0 or less I cant see people stringing consecutive turns together. Its a wave that needs to be sailed rather than surfed.

Got a bit of a shock when I fell in the first time, but after a while not too bad, probably could just about have managed without slippers, but didnt fancy adding cold feet to the list of woes.

Mauritius 10th - 23rd November 2006

2006-11-29T16:24:00.000Z

From Boardhedz

Sailing Conditions
We sailed 7/12 days in planing winds. My most used kit was my own 5.0 and 54cm waveboard. If it was windy there was enough wind for a 5.7 and 85l waveboard. Which would be fine, ordinarily, but I was expecting a fair bit of down the line perfection. And we only got 1 day of that at Manawa, plus 2 days of heavy UK style down the line on Little Reef one day mast +, the other logo-high. The other 4 days were waist-headhigh on Little Reef. We also had 2 days float and ride inside the reef, and 2 days light wind freestlye.

Manawa is a brilliant brilliant wave, a beginner wavesailor can mess around the shoulder and not get into too much danger, while at the same time the more experienced and/or foolhardy can go deep and get 4/5 critical turns. You approach the wave through a channel in the reef and it is deceptively far offshore, the day we sailed had the perfect wind angle to take you there in one tack. It was a fair bit faster than I was expecting, and a bit heavier, I had one decent pounding across the reef, and one lengthy swim when I found the limits of how deep my skill level allowed me to go. It was half-mast-logo, but could easily go a lot bigger and still be sailable, although it would be pretty intimidating and a real test of your technique smacking the lip at that size. I don’t think the wave could really hold that many sailors, it was starting to feel crowded at more than 10 with 3-5 kites, by going deep you can get rid of the other windsurfers, and can share a wav if they drop-in, but the kites can be a pain. There were kite grooveriders, generally on twin-tips getting on the wave but not using it and generally being very gay, and then there were some execellent kiters on mini-surfboards, who have to turn properly and can really rip.

The first five days we were there the outer reefs were being pounded by a huge swell and the channel to Manawa was closing out, and I cannot see how any of the outer reefs were sailable, despite some good winds. On one day you could see some kiters were heading out to One Eye, but by the time they got out there they were like ants on a tennis ball and it would have been suicide to try and sail it. I was there for two weeks and at no point did anyone sail One Eye, speaking to the guys at the centre it needs a certain set of conditions to work.

Manawa deserves a proper waveriding board, Little Reef gets quite choppy on the wave and lacks juice at its more typical size, so a 80-85l 58cm new gen board would have been better for that. 5.8 and 5.0 sails will get the most use, there’s enough wind for a full waveboard rocker. The stats reported by the centre are pretty accurate, and in fact there was one day when they closed the centre early and then the wind blew through late.

The wind is a tradewind, boosted by a venturi effect when it is in the right direction and sunny, when the wind is SSE to Ely then you will get 10 knots on top of the windguru forecast. If the wind is much further North than Ely then the venturi will cause a little reverse eddy and you can see the wind blowing from the left out to sea, but from the right in close. If the sun is strong enough then this can back round enough to come onshore in the afternoon. If its cloudy then wind can be pretty gusty if its too far to the East.

Safety is more of an issue here than any location I have sailed at. When you are heading out the back at Manawa you are a long long way off shore and cannot be seen from the beach, a kit breakage could cause real problems.

Indian Resort Hotel
The hotel is an interesting mixed bag, the staff are lovely and beautiful, but not in an Ian Schrager up their own arses way, more a happy mulatto island friendly way. The food is great. The gardens are beautiful. The rooms need a refit to get the place to 5*, but then noone cares if you leave your kit rigged in the garden, or if you got to dinner in your boardies or if your daughter feeds the cats at the dinner table. For most windsurfers I know, it is an excellent compromise, any posher and we wouldn’t feel at home, any less posh and it would be poor value.

Trip Advisor - Indian Resort

Other things to do
The hotel has a good kids club, tennis courts, free widestyle kit, hobies, diving school, dolphin trips, 3 swimming pools, spa, etc There is no shortage of things to do. Unfortunately my 2 year old spent too long in the pool the first couple of days, then got an ear infection and fever and had a miserable week after that, when all she wanted was her mum and DVD. A course of antibs sorted it out, but she lost her enthusiasm for eg dolphin trip which I had been really looking forward to.

The hotel is a bit isolated so most people end watching the hotel entertainment, which was actually pretty good, all the staff seemed to be able to sing and dance very well, and I really like the Mauritian music which was a kind of Chet Baker jazz on the offbeat mixed with jit. But maybe I am just showing my age…

If you surf, you will not be short of things to do on no wind days, but I would be very surprised if part-time surfers were up to a lot of the waves I saw. Little Reef was regularly double overhead and looked like more than enough.

Flights
I went BA, mainly on price. Nightflight out, which was OK, dayflight back which was not that pleasant even though my daughter behaved herself. It’s a long day and I would pay extra for a nightflight back with Air Mauritius. BA were cool with my kit going out, but complete arseholes on the way back, and I got charged for 3kg excess, when I complained it was suggested I take up golf. I will never be flying BA again. Air Mauritius seemed a lot cooler with kit, and didn’t even bother weighing my mates on the way out. At over a £10/kg excess on BA, I would definitely fly Air Mauritius next time.

The holiday was expensive (£3800 for me, wife and 2 year old all-inclusive), and I would have lived to sail Manawa at least 3 or 4 times given the cost, but that would have made it great value, best holiday ever, etc.

Given reports from other sailors out there this year, and the wind stats the place is getting at the moment, I would not go out there again expecting 10 sessions at Manawa in a fortnight in November. But 3 or 4 would be a great result. If there are waves like this in the UK, then they will be further to travel, and you wont be sailing them in your boardies. You can give yourself a better chance at wind, by travelling in July/August but I get the impression crowds would be a big problem. The centre manager said his favourite time of the year was December – plenty of swell, much warmer, Ok not so much wind, but on the days you do get out, you get far more waves and no aggro. December will be much nicer (ie sunny and warm) for any non-windsurfer too.

Thursday 26th October

2006-10-31T13:03:00.001Z

Pagham, 5.8 and 95l FSW. Waves, well, chop and bumps were better immediately East/downwind of the mulberry. Well powered most of the time, 15-20 knots according to Chimet and beautifully warm - more like late summer more than late October!

Friday 6th October

2006-10-13T11:05:00.000+01:00

Sailed at Avon Beach. Drove down in 30-35knts and got to the beach to find everyone swiming their kit in in 5knts in quite nice waves. Brilliant...

Decided to have some lunch and see if the wind came back as the weather cleared. Sure enough it did and went out on the 5.0 and 95l. The waves dropped off pretty quickly as the tide dropped and the water became almost unsailably shallow (remember for future: Avon high tide beach on big springs). It soon became plenty windy for the waveboard which with its renewed non-slip stuck to the feet like glue.

Great fun but a bit disappointed as was expecting epic...

This is the size of the waves once the tide had gone out :(

Joel going for a sick gaeriel :)

Sunday 1st October

2006-10-09T14:24:00.000+01:00

Solid to maxed 4.2 day at Pagham. Reasonable waist-high waves, but afflicted with the usual Pagham arthritis, meaning jumping was better than riding, and although there was plenty of riding to be done it was definitely a day for the Evo-style boards. It was probably better at low tide, given the swell size.

Got some great jumps though, biggest I've done for years. Wind was up to 40knots according to Chimet.

Thursday 21st September

2006-09-22T13:13:00.000+01:00

Checked Bracklesham out which looked very nice sideshore/slightly off in the SEly wind. Some waves, would have been good waveriding in the small clean swell once the tide had dropped enough to launch.

But family duties meant that I launched at Felpham. It was blowing good 5.0 weather when I got there, but as soon as I got to beach with kit it dropped. Thought about getting 5.8, which would have been fine, but did a float out, backside ride back in session on FSW in waist high waves.

After an hour the wind came up and I was planing most of the time. Pretty good fun, considering it would have been very easy to not bother when the wind dropped...

Monday 28th August

2006-08-31T17:18:00.000+01:00

Bracklesham Bay with a 5.8 on the 95l FSW. Wind was a bit gusty from the NW but the Chimet archive shows F4/5 for the time I was sailing (1130-1430). Only dropped off the plane a handful of times, no waves, but some chop for hopping. Nice and sunny, water temperature has dropped a few degrees already though :(

Thursday 10th August

2006-08-16T12:30:00.000+01:00

Bracklesham with 5.8 and FSW. The wind was a nice WNW direction ie only slightly onshore, blowing ~ 18knts but no swell, well maybe 6" :) . Nice and sunny, water very warm.

Monday 31st July

2006-08-01T16:33:00.000+01:00

Solid 5.0 day at Bracklesham. Used the FSW board but could easily have been on the waveboard, the Chimet archive shows an average 25 knts for the time we were out. Caught the tide just right and was rewarded with clean waves, up to head-high from low to mid-tide. The wind was very onshore, but it was great for backside-riding and aeriels and you could carve hard up into the wave to jump on the way out.

As ever, totally uncrowded.

Sunday 9th July

2006-07-10T16:45:00.001+01:00

Sailed at Pagham with the boys with a 5.0 but it was plenty windy enough for a 4.2. Chimet was showing F6 gusting 7. Had the FSW out at first which was a bit hectic, right on the limit of its range, but sailable - would be OK in clean waves in that wind. Changed to the waveboard and that calmed things down nicely.

Very choppy, except up by the spit was was billiard table flat, due to the current coming out of the harbour on the ebbing tide.

Lovely sunny day on the coast - miserable inland.

Friday 9th June

2006-06-13T11:21:00.000+01:00

After some major traffic hassle due to the M25 being closed, got to Felpham and got on the water about 5pm. Went out with 5.8 on the FSW and the wind was a bit scratchy from the East. The tide turned soon after though and the wind filled into reasonable planing conditions and I sailed til after 7pm. The Sun was out and the water was warm, so although it wasnt radical conditions, it was still a nice sail.

Saturday 20th May

2006-05-22T12:24:00.000+01:00

Got a late session at Pagham. It was nuclear windy - 35knts average gusting 45 on Chimet. Used my very old 3.7 and prob would have been better off with my only slightly less old 4.2. Need a new 4.2.

Some rideable waves, but they were doing the usual Pagham thing of walling up, then vanishing after you've got one top turn. Good jumping, when you weren't totally overpowered.

Friday 19th May

2006-05-19T23:51:00.000+01:00

Went to Avon Beach - got there in less time than it takes to get to Bracklesham or The Witterings. Started off on 5.0, nicely powered, got a lot of waves with 4/5 bottom turns on each. Over time the wind picked up and I changed down to 4.2 but overdownhauled it. I think I need to ditch the 4.2 and get a 4.5 Session and come in if there's more wind than I can handle with that.

Avon is great venue, sandy, no shorebreak, lots of waves, no crowds or aggro. Will go there again. Quite a bit probably...

Thursday 13th April

2006-04-17T11:48:00.000+01:00

5.0 on the 95l Freestyle Wave at Bracklesham Bay. Chimet was showing WSW when I left but definitely SWly when I got there. Decent enough waves, very onshore meaning no down the line but good backside aerials. Tide dropped quickly, and it was easily waveboard windy when Rich and I packed up.

2006-03-28T17:35:00.000+01:00

For the record, missed good down the line sails at Pagham today (head-high, 4.7m) and yesterday (head-high, 4.5m).

Here is someone out at Pagham earlier, with the tide on the push...

Nice!

This image was posted on the forums on Boards website in the 'How was it for you?' section. Do not look at it if you are stuck in the office...

2006-03-22T17:43:00.000Z

The author at Gnaraloo in November 2004 - feels like a long time ago...

... and half a world away, which of course, it is.